The Nikon Creative Lighting System offers a comprehensive selection of revolutionary portable tools to match virtually any need. Whether used for simple on-camera use at a family gathering or in multiple wireless off-camera arrays, Nikon flashes operate in perfect concert with Nikon’s CLS compatible cameras.

Nikon imaging software is as important to imaging excellence as the quality of NIKKOR lenses and the capabilities of Nikon cameras. Powerful, sophisticated Nikon software—a vital link in the chain of creative control of the imaging process.

Whatever your level of experience and with whatever camera brand you shoot, there's a class for you! We will inspire you, help you master new techniques and improve your picture-taking skills by providing clear, direct information on a wide range of technical and creative topics.

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From casual weekend outings to rainforest excursions to the safari trip of a lifetime, Nikon Sport Optics give you the ability to clearly view every detail in crisp, brilliant color at a respectful distance. Choose from the range of legendary Nikon optics—binoculars, scopes, rangefinders, digiscoping adapters and accessories—for your viewing needs.

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As we develop exciting new products, some older products inevitably must be retired, no matter how beloved. Never to be forgotten, we maintain the key information for these products—tech specs, user manuals and more.

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Nikon Ambassadors are some of the most talented and influential visual artists working in the business today. From workshops to trade show platforms, online learning and social media; Nikon Ambassadors represent the most versatile and ambitious photographers today.

Change your white balance during a sunrise or sunset. Take your camera off auto white balance and switch to Cloudy or Shady white balance. This will add more strength to the reds, oranges and yellows. Auto White Balance tries to keep colors neutral.

Looking for inspiration for your photography? Look no further than Learn & Explore, the area on the Nikonusa website that is packed full of educational articles, how-to tutorials and inspirational pieces on all sorts of photography topics.

Carry your camera manual, especially if your camera is new. When traveling you'll probably have a chance to try some new shots. It can also be the time you’re likely to forget the function of a particular button. Or you may just want to explore all the cool things today’s cameras offer.

Experiment with the white balance settings outside. White balance on your camera will alter the color temperature and appearance you get in your picture. For instance, a CLOUDY setting will give your pictures a warmer cast. The FLUORESCENT setting will make your photographs cooler, skewing to a purple cast.

When traveling abroad, check the power setting and type of plugs. Most modern chargers do both 110 volts (USA) and 220 volts (most of the rest of the world). Check yours, and then pick the right adapter for the plug. Be careful to not use a 110-volt power strip in higher-voltage countries.

Turn on the lights when shooting inside the house. Lamps and overhead lights will brighten any picture indoors. The light will add depth to the picture and often warm up the color. Most importantly, it will brighten up the background.

Be creative with your posing. Don't just line everybody up. Use the steps or the arm of a couch to experiment with some people standing and others sitting. Have kids sitting in laps or someone sitting on the floor or kneeling. Mix it up.

Get yourself in the picture. Nothing is worse than a vacation with no shots of the family photographer. Get in the picture by using a tripod (or a steady surface such as a wall or a car hood) and the camera’s self-timer to make sure you're included in the family memories.

Jump for fun. Have your kids line up for a picture. As the photographer, get low, and get ready to shoot. Have the kids all jump in the air at the same time. Capturing them mid jump can bring out their true personalities.

When photographing a lot of people at a party, use your camera’s Smart Portrait System to help you get better pictures. The blink mode lets you know if your subjects blinked, and the smile timer can snap the photo when the camera sees that your subjects are smiling.

Try turning off your flash at night to get what your eye really sees. If it's at all dark or dim, the camera will try to fire the flash. Find the flash off icon (usually a lightning bolt with a line through it) and select it. Make sure to hold steady, or use a tripod, because the shutter speed may be slow.

Use the pet scene mode when photographing cats and dogs. If your camera doesn’t have a pet mode, disable the audible beeps and focus assist lamps while photographing them so the lights and sounds aren’t a distraction.

Go shooting with a friend. Not only will you add another pair of eyes to find interesting subjects, but you’ll also feed off of each other’s ideas and energy. Try to organize regular shoots in the park. Share lenses or tips on making that unforgettable photo.

Use fill flash to add a little sparkle to your subject’s eyes when shooting portraits outdoors, during the day. Even in bright sunlight, fill flash can even out the lighting for a more pleasing photograph.

Compose photos using the “rule of thirds.” Think of the frame as being broken into nine rectangles (like a tic-tac-toe grid over the picture). Place your subject at one of the intersections of the lines for a more visually stimulating photo.

When shooting an image that has a subject looking off to one side, compose your photograph so there is more space where the subject is looking. This will give your photograph more of a natural feeling.

When shooting landscapes at dusk or nighttime, use a tripod and cable release or self-timer so you can slow down the shutter speed to let in more light. This is the technique used when you see pictures of car lights as lines, not pinpoints.

One of the rules of composition says that horizon lines should not be placed in the center of an image, but closer to the top or bottom of the frame. Sometimes rules are meant to be broken. When you’re photographing a subject and its reflection, its perfectly fine to place the horizon in the center of the frame.

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Nikon is the world leader in digital imaging, precision optics and photo imaging technology and is globally recognized for setting new standards in product design and performance. The unique strength of the Nikon brand attributable to the company’s unwavering commitment to quality, performance, technology and innovation. Nikon Inc. markets and distributes consumer and professional digital SLR cameras, NIKKOR optics, Speedlights…

Great lens for the money.
I purchased this lens for a whale watching trip to Mexico. I like the weight of the lens. Easy to hold. The picture of the white wing dove was the very first picture with this lens.
January 11, 2015

Best Value for a Quality, Portable, Telephoto Zoom Lens
This first generation Nikon 80-400mm auto focus zoom lens was Nikon's first vibration reduction (VR) lens. I have owned it for over ten years and it continues to amaze me in terms of optical quality, resolution, and portability. Below is a photo of a Giant Panda taken with a Nikon D700 camera body, a shutter speed of 1/125 of a second, an aperture of f/5.6, an ISO of 200, a focal length of 270mm, an exposure mode of Program, a light meter mode of Matrix, and a white balance mode of Auto. A Nikon SB-800 Speedlight was used for fill flash to enhance the colors of the panda's fur.
October 15, 2014

Extremely useful on the move
Most reports on this lens indicated slow focusing and average image quality, and my first hand-held shots of flying birds confirmed it at relatively high shutter speeds (1/800 and more) with VR on.
I then took a series of hand-held shoots of still subjects at 400mm from my balcony and I discovered that the images where very sharp at relatively low shutter speeds (around 1/400 and no more than 1/600). That appears to indicate that the VR system needs such a time window to average its effect.
On the other hand, this lens does not have a built-in focusing motor, and autofocusing relies on the camera (only Nikon cameras with a focusing motor are compatible with the feature). Autofocusing is indeed slow. Nevertheless, the lens allows for the selection of autofocus ranges, and I found that, with the proper range, and when it has little tracking to do (for example, following a bird that took off from a standing point), the success rate is surprisingly high at 400mm, with very sharp images (DX format).
Around 200mm, the images are comparable to best obtained with my other lenses.
Although not light, this lens is very well balanced for hand-held shots on a D300 with its power grip, it offers a 12x magnification in the DX format, and the whole set can be comfortably carried, ready to use, in a backpack with a 18-200mm zoom and a flash unit.
November 25, 2011

good
I like this lens it's range is great. Only thing I would like to see is to make it a bit faster to focus faster.
August 15, 2011

Awesome Lens and a great price
I just added this lens to my stable of Nikon lenses. It is a great all around lens. I do wildlife photography as well as sports photography. I have found the lens to be a fantastic addition.
July 29, 2011

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This lens will no longer auto-focus on my D200. My other lens, AF-S 18-200mm, will still auto-focus. Does anyone have any suggestions on what setting I might have wrong on the lens, or what I should try to get this lens once again auto-focusing? Thanks.

1 year, 5 months ago

by

Dave G

Basking Ridge, Bernards, NJ 07920, USA

Location :

Basking Ridge, Bernards, NJ 07920, USA

Age: 45-54

Favorite Subject: Nature

Nikon Family: 6-10 years

Experience: More than a year

Role: Serious passion, hobbyist

1 answer

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Do you have a local camera shop? Have them check the lens on another Nikon with built in screw drive, this should at least narrow it down to a lens or camera problem. Side note, I don't know your level of experience but I assume you remember to turn the camera "off" when changing lenses.It could be a bad screw drive motor and that is why the AF-S lens is working.

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My 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D is 7 years old and up until just recently has served me well. I've noticed that images just don't see as sharp as they used to be. I'm wondering if I should send it in to get checked out?

I am shooting with a Nikon D600.

Thanks

7 months ago

by

Brian

Hampton, VA, USA

Location :

Hampton, VA, USA

Age: Over 65

Favorite Subject: Nature

Nikon Family: 21+ years

Experience: More than a year

Role: Semi-professional photographer

1 answer

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